Method of producing patterned blocks of pile yarns in making patterned pile fabrics

ABSTRACT

A method of producing blocks of pile yarns in making patterned pile fabrics, such as carpets, rugs and the like, whose patterns may be of many different colors or kinds of pile yarns and of simple or highly intricate configurations. According to the method, a fabric is woven from pile yarns of relatively different appearance; e.g., color, texture, etc., which serve as the wefts of the fabric and are selectively arranged in a predetermined patterned order and bound together by sparsely spaced binder warp yarns. Identifying weft yarns are positioned at substantially equally spaced locations in the fabric for determining successive fabric sections thereof, and the fabric is moved back and forth while being folded along the identifying weft yarns to form a compact stack of superposed fabric layers. The stack is positioned in an open-ended container with the ends of the pile yarns exposed so that they may be severed to form successive slices of patterned pile tufts therefrom which may be secured to a suitable substrate to form a pile fabric therefrom.

United States Patent [191 Bondi 11] 3,831,232 Aug. 27, 1974 METHOD OFPRODUCING PATI'ERNED BLOCKS OF PILE YARNS IN MAKING PATTERNED PILEFABRICS Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser.No. 34,756, May 5,

1970, abandoned.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 10, 1969 Italy 16675/69 [52]US. Cl. 28/72 R, 139/122 W, 156/72, 156/148 [51] Int. Cl D04h 11/00 [58]Field of Search 156/72, 148, 254; 28/72 R, 28/72 CS [56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,491,258 12/1949 Fuhrhop et a1, 156/722,516,559 7/1950 Fuhrhop et a1. 156/72 2,788,835 4/1957 Brookes et a1156/72 3,325,324 6/1967 Schmidt et a1 156/72 3,359,147 12/1967 Miller156/72 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,047,382 11/1966 Great Britain156/72 496,165 6/1950 Belgium 156/72 332,070 8/1903 France 156/2541,040,286 8/1966 Great Britain 156/72 140,288 5/1953 Sweden 156/72Primary Examiner-Robert R. Mackey Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Parrot, Bell,Seltzer, Park & Gibson [57] TRACT A method of producing blocks of pileyarns in making patterned pile fabrics, such as carpets, rugs and thelike, whose patterns may be of many different colors or kinds of pileyarns and of simple or highly intricate configurations. According to themethod, a fabric is Woven from pile yarns of relatively differentappearance; e.g., color, texture, etc., which serve as the wefts of thefabric and are selectively arranged in a predetermined patterned orderand bound together by sparsely spaced binder warp yarns. Identifyingweft yarns are positioned at substantially equally spaced locations inthe fabric for determining successive fabric sections thereof, and thefabric is moved back and forth while being folded along the identifyingweft yarns to form a compact stack of superposed fabric layers. Thestack is positioned in an' open-ended container with the ends of thepile yarns exposed so that they may be severed to form successive slicesof patterned pile tufts therefrom which may be secured to a suitablesubstrate to form a pile fabric therefrom.

13 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures WEAVE A FABRlC, OF SELECTED WEFTWlEPI LEYARNS (FIGURES ZANIQD) LAYER FABRIC. 1N E UALWARD Lemme WITH THE- Emssor- WEFT YARNS FORMING A PlLE PATTERN (Fic-tulzes 4,6ANB8) ENCUJSE LAYE1212s FAEE |c 1N CQNTA] N 122 To FORM BLOCK OF DILE YARNS WITH ENDS OPPILE YARNS Ex oses CFiGLlEE 5) 5EVER LENGTH 0F 1 11.12 YAENs FROM B1004ANB heposir ONTO A $uesn2ArE (FIGURES 10mm) PAIENIEBmamu WW i ENCLOSE WeREE FABR ac Plug YARNS EXPOSEB FIGURE ES) SEVER, LENGTH OF P: LE: YARNSFRQM Bm mm hEPoaT ONTO A @ussm ATE (FIGURE-5 10mm) mmRo A M s m Em M E Erwmpm El .bow

"Da u m mwaw CYNQQREW Eh TA R NvmT o BDEQDA; R 4 AE WHWEB R T HH E EAH UW E mm ME WW /W C awn B D E & F N

EWQ 5 AL E E R E TY VSF U @FE m w w pAT T ERN CONTROL m MEANS METHOD OFPRODUCING PATTERNED BLOCKS OF PILE YARNS IN MAKING PATTERNED PILEFABRICS This application is a continuation-in-part of my copendingapplication Ser. No. 34,756, filed May 5, 1970 and entitled A PROCESSFOR THE MANUFAC- TURE OF GLUED PILE CARPETS, PARTICU- LARLY WITHCOLOURED IMAGES, now abandoned.

Various methods have been proposed heretofore for producing patternedblocks of pile yarns suitable for use in making patterned pile fabrics.However, difficulties have been encountered in the preparation of yarnblocks heretofore, especially yarn blocks which were to serve forobtaining pile fabrics with intricate variegated images or designs. Forexample, Millers US. Pat. No. 3,359,147 discloses a method of producingvariegated patterned pile yarn blocks in which prearranged runninglengths of pile yarns are held in the desired relationship by moisteningthe pile yarns and then freezing the same to'form a solidified blockfrom which slabs of frozen pile materials are severed.

Another proposed method of producing pile yarn blocks is disclosed inthe US. Pat. No. 2,491,258 of Furhrhop et al. in which pile yarns ofdifferent colors are prearranged on spools of the type used in theAxminster loom and are taken from such spools and impregnated and coatedwith a consolidating medium as they are formed into layers to form aconsolidated block of yarns. Such consolidated block of yarns is cutinto sections or slabs for forming a pile fabric there from, after whichthe consolidated medium is removed.

It is apparent that such prior methods present problems in handling andarranging the pile yarns. Also, obvious problems are presented incutting pile yarns frozen or consolidated as described above.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improvedmethod of producing patterned blocks of pile yarns wherein the patternedselecting of the pile yarns and the maintaining of definition of thepatterned areas are simplified, and the blocks of pile yarn aresubstantially more efficiently produced than those produced by theaforementioned and other known prior art methods.

It is another more specific object of this invention to provide a methodof producing pattern blocks of pile yarns in which the selection andarranging of different colors and/or kinds of pile yarns is effectedaccording to a predetermined pattern in a simple and efficient manner byweaving a fabric of selected weftwise pile yarns while the pile yarnsare bound together by sparsely spaced binder warp yarns so as tomaintain the patterned relationship of the pile yarns during subsequenthandling of the woven fabric. The thus woven fabric then is moved backand forth while being folded along predetermined weftwise fold lines toform a compact cake or stack of superposed fabric layers ofsubstantially equal warpwise length and so that the ends of the weftwisepile yarns in the stack collectively reflect a composite patternembodying the design to be produced in the pile fabric. Thereafter, thestack is enclosed in an open-ended container to form a confined block ofpile yarns with the ends of the pile yarns exposed and forming thecomposite pattern at an open end of the container so that the block ofpile yarns may be incrementally advanced from the container and slicesof patterned pile tufts severed therefrom in forming a patterned pilefabric.

The method according to this invention has many important advantagesover methods proposed heretofore, such as high productivity, andthereproduction of images and designs which may be highly complex andmay be composed of a practically unlimited number of colors'and of anydesired type or combination of natural, artificial or synthetic threadsor yarns of staple fibers, filaments or mixtures thereof. Furthermore,pile yarn blocks formed according to this invention permit the formingof pile fabrics having pile tufts of very high density, with or withoutrelief effects, and without limitations in the height of the pile tufts.Also, in addition to carpets, rugs and the like, patterned pile fabricsmay be obtained which are similar to velvet, tapestry fabric and thelike, all at a cost of production which is considerably lower than thatof corresponding products obtained by the usual methods of weaving orneedle punching.

Some of the objects and advantages of the invention having been stated,others will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a block diagrambriefly setting forth steps according to the method of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a loom for weaving a fabric ofselected weftwise pile yarns bound together by binder warp yarns;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic persepctive view of suitable patterncontrolled weft selecting means for selectively presenting differentweft yarns to the weft inserting means of the loom of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view, with portions broken away,showing a preferred form of fabric layering apparatus for carrying outthe method steps of folding the woven fabric along predeterminedweftwise fold lines and compacting the same to form a cake or stack ofsuperposed fabric layers of substantially equal length;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a completed patterned block ofpile yarns produced according to this invention and wherein the layeredstack of weftwise pile yarns is positioned in an open-neded containerwith corresponding ends of pile yarns exposed so that they may besevered from the: stack to form slices of patterned pile tuftstherefrom;

FIG. 6 is a schematic partially exploded view of an upper portion of thestack of superposed fabric layers shown in FIG. 4, for the purpose ofillustrating various bands of contrasting or different colors or kindsof weftwise pile yarns in the fabric and also illustrating how thefabric layers may be impaled on restraining pins to insure properalignment of the successive layers in the stack being formed;

FIG. 7 is a greatly enlarged view of a portion of one of the layers offabric, such as that portion identified at 7 in FIG. 6, and particularlyillustrating some identifying weft yarns and identifying warp yarns inthe fabric;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view substantially through the centrallongitudinally plane of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 and showing theposition of a supporting worktable when starting the formation of astack of superposed fabric layers on the worktable;

FIG 9 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating suitable mechanismfor imparting reciprocatory motion to the roll of fabric in the upperportion of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic fragmentary elevation showing how exposed ends ofthe pile yarns in the container may be severed from the stack to form aslice of pile tuft therefrom incident to the production of a length ofpile fabric; v

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view-showingmorein detail how a slice of pile tufts may be severed from the block ofpile yarns and deposited on a substrate to form the pile fabrictherefrom;

Referring more specifically to the drawings, as illustrated in the blockdiagram of FIG. 1 the essential steps involved in making pile fabrics inaccordance with the present invention comprise weaving a fabric ofselected weftwise pile yarns, then layering the woven fabric in layersof substantially equal warpwise length to form a compact stack of fabriclayers with the ends of the weft yarns therein forming a preliminarypile pattern, and then enclosing the thus formed stack of layered fabricin an open-ended container to form a confined block of pile yarns withthe ends of the pile yarns exposed. The pile yarns then may be severedfrom the stack to form slices of patterned pile tufts therefrom which,in turn, may be adhesively or otherwise secured on a substrate.

Accordingly, it will be observed in FIG. 2 that the fabric, generallydesignated at 12, is woven on a suitable loom which may be of anydesired conventional or other type and is preferably in the form of ashuttleless loom equipped with conventional or other suitable means forcontrolling the harnesses or heddles 13 thereof and also equipped with asuitable weft selector means 14. Weft selector means 14 is patterncontrolled for selectively introducing predetermined pile yarns 15, oneat a time, to weft inserting means 16 (FIG. 3) to be inserted in thewarp shed prior to each beat-up of the reed R of the loom.

The weft selector means 14 may be of conventional or other construction.By way of example, the weft selector means 14 may be of the general typedisclosed in US. Pat. Nos. 2,429,394; 2,814,315; 3,315,708; 3,467,148and 3,593,754. As representative of the weft selector means 14, it willbe observed in FIG. 2 that the pile weft yarns 15, as well as a separateidentifying weft yarn 15a to be later described, are taken fromrespective separate yarn supply packages or sources 15b. From thepackages 15b, the weft yarns 15, 15a pass through suitable tension means14a and then through respective movable weft yarn feed fingers 14b.Fingers 14b are normally inactive and are selectively lowered into anactive position, one at a time, for guiding the respective weft yarnsinto the path or hook of the weft inserting means 16.

As shown in FIG. 3, weft inserting means 16 is of a type which passesinto and through the warp shed and in front of reed R, then catches anddraws the respective selected weft yarn through the shed as the weftinserting means 16 is being withdrawn from the warp shed. As the weftinserting means reaches about midshed position, a clamp and cutter means14c operates in a well-known manner to release a cut end of the weftyarn, then moves rearwardly, clamps the end of weft yarn extending fromthe respective feed finger 14b, and then returns to the forward positionshown. The next succeeding selected end of weft yarn then is positioned,

in the manner described, to be engaged by the weft inserting means 16 toinsert a succeeding weft yarn in the warp shed following beat-up of thelast inserted pile yarn 15 by reed R. v

The yarn feed fingers 14b are pivoted on a shaft 14d and are selectivelylowered from their normal, inactive, positions by respective solenoids14e electrically connected to suitable respective pattern-readingswitches 14f. A pattern control means in the form of an endless patternstrip or programming strip 14g is suitably driven, as by an electricmotor 14h, so as to advance one step during each successive pick of theloom. The pattern strip 14g is provided with a pattern represented by alongitudinal row of dot indicia or performations 141' thereincorresponding to each pattern-reading switch 14f and its respectivesolenoid 142. Thus, a dot or perforation 141 registers with one oranother of the switches 14f each time that the weft inserting means 16approaches the feed fingers 14b so that one or another of them is activeeach time weft inserting means 16 is operated; i.e., during each pick ofthe loom. Switches 14f may be in the form of feeler switches ofphotocells, as desired. Since switches used with pattern strips are wellknown, a more detailed description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

The pattern strip 14g also may be in the form of Jacquard pattern cards,dobby chains or in any other desired form for electrically,penumatically, mechanically or otherwise operating the feed fingers 14bto select pile yarns of relatively different color or other appearanceand to present them to the weft inserting means of the loom which thusarranges the pile yarns in parallel juxtaposition according to apredetermined pattern during weaving of the fabric 12.

The warps of which the warp sheds are formed are largely composed ofsparsely spaced, binder warp yarns 17 (FIG. 7) which are quite small orfine relative to pile yarns 15 and preferably are formed from a materialwhich is barely visible, such as continuous monofilament nylon strandsof about 15 to 20 denier, with the harnesses 13 being so controlled asto effect a shed change following each beat-up of the reed R.

In its preferred embodiment, the fabric 12 may be woven any convenientwidth, e.g., about 8 feet to 12 feet wide, in accordance with the numberof lengths of pile fabric to be produced from the subsequently layeredfabric 12. It is preferred that, in such a fabric, the relatively finebinder warp yarns 17 are spaced approximately one-fourth inch toone-half inch apart from each other across the width of the fabric. Ithas been determined that the warp yarns need not be removed from thefabric 12, since the warp yarns may be fine and practically invisibleand they are mutilated when slices of pile tufts are severed from thepatterned block of pile yarns, to be described, formed from the wovenfabric. In fact, the warp yarns are retained in the fabric 12 tomaintain the patterned relationship of the weftwise pile yarns 15 duringformation of the patterned block of pile yarns.

At least one visually distinct side edge identifying warp yarn 17a,which is of contrasting appearance, such as size, color or the likerelative to the weftwise pile yarns 15 and binder warp yarns 17, isinterwoven with the weft yarns adjacent each longitudinal side edge ofthe fabric. Additionally, similar intermediate identifying warp yarns17b are spaced weftwise of the fabric throughout the width thereof atlocations about 5 to 6 inches apart for purposes to be later described.

It is important to note that, in order to enhance the visibility of theidentifying warp yarns 17a, 17b they are formed largely as floats (FIGS.6 and 7) and thereby form a float weave throughout the length of thefabric 12. All of the identifying warp yarns 17a, 17b pass through thefabric 12 from one side to the other, and vice versa, at acommonrespective weftwise pile yarn 15 or 15a in each instance. The floatsformed of the identifying warp yarns 17, 17a may be of any desiredlength which is readily visible to operators during the forming of thefabric into layers as will be later explained. For example, eachidentifying warp yarn 17a, 17b may be floated over 7 or 8 weftwise pileyarns 15 and then may be floated beneath 7 or 8 pile yarns 15, thisprocedure being repeated throughout the length of the fabric asillustrated, for example, in FIG. 7.

For the purposes of this disclosure it may be assumed that all of thepile yarns 15 shown in FIG. 2 are of different colors relative to eachother. The identifying weft yarn 15a also may be a pile yarn similar topile yarns 15, but the identifying weft yarn 15a should be a differentcolor than weftwise pile yarns 15 or it should be otherwise visuallydistinct from pile yarns 15.

' Since it is desirable, according to the invention, that all the layersL (FIG. 6) of the woven fabric 12 employed in forming a given block ofpatterned pile yarns are in predetermined alignment with each other soas to provide a clear definition of the design areas in the pile patternto be formed, it is preferred that all of the fabric layers are ofsubstantially the same warpwise length. Accordingly, during the weavingof the fabric on the loom shown in FIG. 2, the fabric is formed intosuccessive warpwise interconnected sections of substantially uniformlength by inserting at each of a plurality of substantially uniformlyspaced locations in the fabric 12, at least one, or a group of, theidentifying weft yarns 15a. It will be observed in FIGS. 6 and 7 thatthe woven fabric 12 has weftwise identifying yarns 15a at spacedlocations along its length with the identifying weft yarns 15a beingarranged in groups of three in this instance. The center of each groupof three identifying weft yarns 15a is positioned a substantiallyuniform distance from the center of the next adjacent group ofidentifying weft yarns 15a, and they define therebetween a correspondingfabric section which constitutes a layer L of the fabric when it isfolded and stacked following the weaving of the fabric 12 on the loom.

In this regard, the fabric 12 may be wound onto an arbor or roll to forma roll 12a of the woven fabric 12 preparatory to folding the fabric intoa compact cake or stack 12b of successive superposed layers. It will beobserved in FIG. 6 that, as the fabric 12 is woven, it is provided withweftwise or transverse bands of pile yarns 15 of different colors whichare arranged in predetermined patterned order. For example, theparticular exploded upper layers L of the fabric in FIG. 6 includeweftwise hands a g successively arranged along the length of each suchlayer. Each of the bands a, c, e, and g may be formed from brown coloredpile yarns, with each of the bands b, d, f being formed from red coloredpile yarns as indicated by comparing the identified colors of theexemplary composite pattern shown in FIG. 5 with the portions of thepattern shown in FIG. 6.

It is apparent that, if individual design portions of the compositepattern formed of multiple layers L of the fabric, are of varying shape,size or disposition relative to a given transverse plane through all ofthe fabric layers L in the stack 12b, then the warpwise dimensions ofcertain weftwise bands, such as bands a-g, will vary from layer to layerL, the number of such bands will vary in different layers and/or some orall of the bands might be omitted in certain layers; i.e., all of theweftwise pile yams 15 in certain layers may be of the same appearancewith exception of the weftwise fold-line identifying yarns 15a. I

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the groups ofidentifying weft yarns 15a define fold lines extending parallel with theweftwise pile yarns and along which the fabric 12 is folded as it ismoved back and forth to form the stack 12b of superposed layers L of therespective sections of the fabric and with the ends of the pile yarns inthe layers L collectively forming a composite pattern of pile yarns 15of relatively different color or other appearance.

While there may be various ways in which the folding of the fabric maybe effected and alignment of the successive layers L may be effectivelyobtained, it is preferred that a layering apparatus substantially of thetype illustrated in FIGS. 4, 8 and 9 is employed in accordance with themethod of this invention, especially in instances where the fabriclayers L are quite large. For example, the fabric 12 may be: woven about3 to 12 feet wide and each warpwise layer L thereof, defined betweenadjacent groups of identifying weft yarns 150, may be about 9 to 12 feetlong. The latter warpwise dimension determines the width of the carpetor other pile fabric to be formed from the stack 12b.

It will be observed in FIGS. 4 and 8 that the layering apparatusgenerally comprises an operators elevated platform 30 provided with arelatively large substantially centrally located opening 31 therethroughto accommodate a vertically movable worktable 40. Table 40 preferably isrectangular in plan and somewhat larger than the width and length ofeach fabric layer L. The worktable 40 may be in the form of arectangular open frame, if desired, provided that it is of such size asto properly support thereupon a supporting platen or panel 42 which maybe about the same width as the weft of each fabric layer, but whichshould be of slightly greater length than the warpwise length of eachfabric layer, since the panel 42 later serves as one sidewall of acontainer designated at 60 (FIG. 5), as will be later described.

worktable 40 is suitably supported on a plurality of vertically movableposts shown in the form of upright screws 43 in FIGS. 4 and 8. ()ne ofthe upright screws 43 is disposed adjacent each outside corner of thesubstantially rectangular worktable 40. Each upright screw threadedlypenetrates a suitable gear 44 within a gear box 45 which also containsother gearing, not shown, connecting the corresponding gear 44 to asubstantially horizontally disposed shaft 46, there being two suchshafts 46 shown in FIG. 4. Corresponding ends of the shafts 46 areconnected by suitable gearing, not shown, in respective gear boxes, toopposite ends of a drive shaft 47. Drive shaft 47 is connected, bysuitable sprocket and chain connections 50, to a hand-crank 51conveniently mounted on one of the guard rail posts of the platforrn 30so as to be within easy reach of a workman standing on platform 30. Fromthe foregoing description, it is apparent that the level of worktable 40relative to platform 30 may be varied by suitable manipulation of thehand-crank 51 of FIG. 4 so that the table 40 and any layers of fabricthereon may be positioned on a level convenient to workmen on theplatform 30 and may be adjusted from time to time during the layering ofthe fabric.

To faciliate moving the woven fabric 12 back and forth on platen 42 tofold the fabric 12 and form the cake or stack 12b (FIG. 4) of superposedlayers L of the fabric 12, the roll 12a of woven fabric 12 is removedfrom the loom of FIG. 2 and mounted on a suitable reciprocable overheadcarriage 70 (FIGS. 4, 8 and 9) movable along a pair of laterally spacedtracks 71. Tracks 71 are spaced a substantial distance above the workmans platform 30 and may be supported, as shown, upon the same frameworkwhich supports platform 30.

Carriage 70 includes opposite end plates 72 having respective rollers 73on their upper portions. The arbor or roll 25, on which the fabric roll12a is wound, is supported on rollers 73. The lower portions of endplates 72 have opposite ends of a pair of parallel guide rolls or niprolls 74 journaled therein which are connected, by respective sprocketand chain units 75 (FIG. 9), to corresponding drive shafts 75a. Driveshafts 75a are connected, by means of respective one-way clutches 75b,to respective pinoins 75c. Shafts 75a are suitably journaled in the endplates 72 and their respective pinions 75c engage a toothed rack 75dcarried by the respective track 71. Each end plate 72 also has a pair oftrolley rollers 76 journaled thereon which rest upon the correspondingtrack 71 and thereby support carriage 70 for reciprocatory movement ontracks 71.

The one-way clutches 75b are so arranged that the left-hand guide roll74 in FIGS. 8 and 9 will be driven in a clockwise direction whenevercarriage 70 moves from left to right, while the right-hand guide roll 74idles, for drawing the fabric 12 from the roll 12a between the guiderolls 74 and directing the fabric toward wortable 40 to deposit acorresponding layer of the fabric onto the platen 42. Conversely, theclutches 75b are so arranged that the other or right-hand guide roll 74I will be driven in a counterclockwise direction for feeding the fabric12 to the worktable 40, as the left-hand guide roll 74 idles, duringmovement of the carriage 70 from right to left in FIG. 7.

Any suitable means may be provided for imparting reciprocatory movementto carriage 70. In this instance, opposite end plates 72 are attached tothe lower run of a respective endless chain 77 (FIG. 8) mounted on apair of longitudinally spaced sprocket wheels 77a, 77b carried by eachrespective track 71. Each sprocket wheel 77a may be driven by areversible electric motor 77c arranged to be manually controlled by aworkman on platform 30. Accordingly, electric motor 770 may becontrolled by a suitable manually operable reversing switch 77d (FIG. 8)interposed in an electrical circuit to motor 77c and positioned withinconvenient reach of a workman on platform 30.

It is important that successive layers L of the fabric 12 are positionedin alignment or registration with each other to insure that thepatterned bands such as a-g (FIG. 6) are in proper alignment to reflectthe desired composite pattern at corresponding ends of the weftwise pileyarns l and throughout the weftwise dimension of the stack 12b as shown,by way of example, in

8 FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. Accordingly, four substantially horizontal rows ofperimetrical or outer substantially upright retaining rods or pins 80 83are associated with worktable 40. The longitudinal or warpwise rows ofpins 80, 81 are spaced apart from each other a distance slightly lessthan the width of the woven fabric 12 and a distance about equal to thedistance between the side edge identifying warp yarns 17a in FIGS. 6 and7. The transverse or weftwise rows of retaining rods 82, 83 extendbetween the opposite ends of the rows 80, 81 and may be spaced apartfrom each other a distance slightly less than the distance between theidentifying weft yarns 15a, which define opposing fold lines along whicheach successive layer of the fabric 12 is to be folded.

One or more intermediate transverse or weftwise rows of substantiallyupright retaining rods or pins are provided which extend parallel to theouter end rows of pins 82, 83 and are disposed between the outerlongitudinal rows 80, 81. By way of example, two intermediate rows ofretaining rods or pins 84, 85 are shown in FIG. 6. The intermediatetransverse rows of retaining pins 84, 85 are provided to aid inmaintaining corresponding intermediate weftwise pile yarns 15 of eachfabric layer in a substantially straight condition during the layeringoperations, as will be later explained, and thereby to aid in preventingthe occurrence of skew or bow in the woven fabric layers. The lower endsof pins 80-85 are secured in a suitable supporting frame 86 positionedon the workroom floor.

For the convenience of the workmen, it is preferred that the pins 80 85are of substantially the same length or height and project upwardlyabout 25 to 35 inches above the level of the elevated platform 30 sothat a workman standing on platform 30 may reach well over the upperends of the pins 80 85 for manually impaling the fabric layers thereon.It is also desirable that platform 30 is spaced sufficiently above thelevel of the supporting floor of the workroom to accommodate asubstantial number of layers L of the fabric within the opening 31 andbelow the level of the workmens platform 30 so that the height of thecompleted stack 12b of fabric layers may be the same as the total lengthof a standard large rug, if desired. For example, if successive rugs orpile pattern repeats of a carpet to be produced from the stack of pileyarns 12b are to be of high density and about 12 feet long, the stack12b then may be about 12 feet high when compacted and before removingthe stack 12b from worktable 40. As will be later explained, however,since the pile yarns are arranged to form tufts on a substrate, then byadvancing the substrate relative to the stack 12b during production ofthe carpet, the density of the carpet pile may be less than that of thepile yarns in the compact stack 12b. In the latter instance, it followsthat a pattern repeat in the pile tufts on the carpet would be of agreater dimension in the direction of advancement of the substrate thanwould the related dimension of the pattern or pattern repeat reflectedon the ends of the pile yarns in the stack 12b.

Therefore, since it may be necessary to form the stack 6 to 12 feet highto accommodate a single repeat, it follows that the retaining pinsshould be of comparable height. However, the pins should be ofrelatively small diameter; e.g., about one-fourth to one-half inch indiameter. Accordingly, it is preferred that a suitable guide means isprovided for stabilizing the medial portions of the upright retainingrods or pins 80 85. To

this end, a substantially rectangular stabilizing frame 87 (FIG. 8) issuspended, as by pliable members 90, from worktable 40. Also, theworktable as well as the supporting panel 42 thereon and the stabilizingframe 87 are provided with suitable holes therethrough which are spacedaccording to the spacing of the various pins 80 85 and are looselypenetrated by the pins 80 85.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that a workman causes thecarriage 70 to move in one direction or in the opposite direction, asthe case may be, to deposit each successive layer L of the fabric 12 onthe supporting panel 42 then resting on table 40. Following each pass ofcarriage 70 over worktable 40, the operator or workman insures that thefold is formed at the corresponding group of identifying weft yarns a(FIG. 6) and then the layer of fabric is impaled on the rows ofretaining pins 80 85. The retaining pins in each row 80 85 may be spacedany desired distance apart although it is preferred that they are spacedabout 6 to 12 inches apart from each other.

However, it may be desirable for the pins in transverse rows 82 85 to bespaced apart from each other a distance corresponding to the distancebetween the several identifying warp yarns 17a, 17b so that the operatormay use the identifying warp yarns 17a, 17b as a visual reference indetermining the point at which the pins in rows 80 85 are to penetrateeach successive layer of the fabric 12 deposited thereon. Additionally,the two intermediate transverse rows of pins 84, 85 should be spacedsuch distance from the endmost transverse rows of pins 82, 83 that thesuccessive layers L of the fabric 12 will be in proper alignment witheach other when the pins in rows 84, 85 penetrate the fabric layersalong weftwise pile yarns adjacent the points at which identifying warpyarns 17a, 17b penetrate through the fabric between adjacent weftwisepile yarns 15. It is apparent that the corresponding weftwise pile yarns15 then will be properly aligned with the intermediate transverse rowsof pins 84, 85 to thereby insure that the corresponding pile yarns arenot skewed or bowed with respect to warpwise and weftwise planes of thefabric layers.

From time to time during the building of the stack or cake 12b ofsuperposed layers L of fabric 12, it is desirable to apply a compressiveforce to the accumulated layers of fabric 12 in order that the ultimatestack or cake 12b being formed will be of substantially uniform densitythroughout its height as viewed in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. Accordingly, itwill be observed in FIGS. 4 and 8 that a pressure platen 100, suitablyperforated at 100a to accommodate the several rows of retaining rods orpins 80 85, is suitably suspended from a carriage 101 provided withsuitable rollers 102 thereon for engaging and riding along tracks 71heretofore described.

The pressure platen 100 may be supported and oper ated in various wayswhich will become apparent to an ordinary mechanic as the descriptionproceeds. By way of example, therefore, platen 100 is shown suspendedfrom the lower end of a piston rod 103 having a piston 104 on its upperend mounted for vertical sliding movement in a double acting cylinder105 carried by carriage 101. Opposite ends of cylinder 105 areconnected, by suitable conduits 106 and manually operable valve means107, to a suitable driven fluid pressure pump means 110 mounted oncarriage 101.

Whenever the operator wishes to compress the layers L of fabric 12 onthe panel 42 then resting upon table 40, the operator may control motors77C so as to move carriage to the right, out of the way of the carriage101 in FIG. 8. Thereafter, carriage 101 may be moved manually or by anysuitable means, not shown, to position the same above and in verticalalignment with worktable 40.

The operator than controls valve means 107 (FIG. 4) to cause platen 100to move downwardly into pressure engagement with the upper surface ofthe then uppermost layer L of fabric 12 in the cake or stack 12b while,at the same time, moving the openings 100a in the platen 100 intoalignment with the rows of retaining pins 85. The layers of fabric 12then on the supporting panel 42 resting on worktable 40 will becompressed without disturbing the-alignment between the successivefabric layers. Thereafter, the operator again operates valve107 toreturn platen to the raised position, and then moves platen 100 out ofthe way of the carriage 70 so that additional layers of fabric 12 may bepositioned upon the layers previously deposited on the panel 42 thenresting upon worktable 40.

Upon the desired number of layers of fabric 12 being accumulated andcompacted in the matter heretofore described and to complete thecorresponding compact cake or stack 12b of fabric layers, the last layerof fabric may be severed from the roll 12a, whereupon the completedcompact stack 12b is positioned in container 60. As a convenience informing container 60, it will be noted in the illustrated embodiment(FIG. 5) that supporting panel 42 serves as the bottom wall of container60. Before removing the stack 12b of fabric layers from worktable 40,opposite end panels 61, 62 are positioned against opposing sides of thestack 12b at the sides thereof defined by the fold lines or boundariesof the successive layers of fabric 12.

Thereafter, a top wall or panel 63, provided with rows of perforations63a- 63f therethrough corresponding to the rows of pins 80-85, ispositioned upon the uppermost layer of the fabric 12 forming the com-.pleted cake or stack 12b. The upper panel 63 is preferably about thesame size and shape as the lower panel 42, and the panels 42, 63 aresecured against the lower and upper surfaces of the stack of pile yarnsby any suitable fastening means, such as turnbuckles 64, which firmlysecure the lower and upper panels 42, 63 to the opposing end panels 61,62 of container 60, to thus complete the formation of the patternedblock of pile yarns.

It is preferred that the inner surfaces of the panels or walls 42, 61,62 and 63 are provided with a smooth polished finish so that the entirecake or stack 12b of pile yarns may be incrementally forced outwardlyfrom one end of container 60. It is to be noted that the container 60 isopen-ended so that at least corresponding ends of the weftwise pileyarns in the cake or stack 12b are exposed and so that a slice of pileyarn tufts may be severed from the cake 12b following each incrementalmovement thereof outwardly from container 60. For example, it will beobserved in FIG. 11 that the opposing panels 42, 63 of container 60 areprovided with smooth plastic sheets 66 on the proximal faces thereofand, of course, it is apparent that similar plastic sheets are providedon the proximal surfaces of the end panels or walls 61, 62.

After the patterned block of pile yarns has been formed by positioningcontainer 60 around the cake or stack 12b of the pile yarns, anysuitable hoisting means, not shown, may be used for lifting the confinedblock and container 60 off of worktable 40 while withdrawing the samefrom the rows of retaining pins 80 85. A succeeding patterned block ofpile yarns then may be formed in the manner heretofore described.

There are various ways in which the confined patterned block of pileyarns, including container 60 and layered stack 1212, may be used formaking pile fabrics. Essentially, however, the container 60 is turnedover on its side so that corresponding ends of the pile yarns thereinhaving the composite pattern thereon will face downwardly. Thereafter,successive slices of the pile yarns are severed from the stack as thepile yarns are incrementally advanced downwardly relative to the wallsof container 60. By way of example, it will be observed in FIGS. and IIthat container 60 was removed from the worktable 40 and is positioned ina suitable carriage 120 having spaced rollers I21 on opposite sidesthereof guided for horizontal movement on suitable tracks 122, only oneof which is shown in FIG. 10. Carriage I20 and associated structureshown in FIGS. 10 and Il may be similar to that disclosed in mycopending application Ser. No. 54,751, filed July 14, 1970 and entitledMETHOD AND EQUIPMENT FOR PRODUCING CARPETS WITH WELDED OR GLUED PILE,AND CARPET THEREBY PRO- DUCED, now abandoned.

It should be noted that container 60 is arranged in carriage 120 so thatone open end of container 60 faces downwardly with the pile yarns I5projecting a relatively short distance below the lower edges of thewalls of container 60, only the walls 42, 61 and 63 being shown in FIG.10. A suitably supported endless chain or belt 124 is connected tocarriage I20 and driven by suitable connections with an electric motorI26 which may be manually controlled for imparting substantialhorizontal reciprocatory movement to carriage I20 and to the patternedblock of pile yarns carried thereby.

Carriage 120 also has a pair of upstanding arms 130 to which the upperend of a fluid pressure cylinder 131 may be suitably secured. CylinderI3I may be of the double-acting type, similar to the cylinder 105 ofFIGS. 4 and 8, and has a suitable piston therein, not shown, to whichthe upper end of a piston rod 133 is secured. The lower end of pistonrod 133 has a pressure plate or platen I34 attached thereto which is ofsuch size and shape as to fit loosely within the confines of the walls42 and 6I.63 of container 60 and to rest upon the upper ends of the nowvertically extending weftwise pile yarns within container 60.

Successive slices of pile tufts may be severed from the lower portion ofthe stack or cake 12b of pile yarns in container 60 by any suitablemeans such as a driven endless cutting blade 140 having its upper run orreach extending transversely of the apparatus in FIGS. 10 and 11 withrespect to the direction in which the carriage 120 is reciprocated. Inthis instance, a slice of tufts 120 is shown partially severed from thelower portion of the stack 12!) in FIG. ll, slice 12c having beendeposited upon a suitable substrate 142 to which a suitable adhesive mayhave been previously applied. As shown in FIGS. 10 and II, substrate I42is moved from left to right on a suitable carrier or conveyor 143 whichpasses over a roller 144 disposed a short distance below the level ofthe upper run of cutting blade 140 so that, as pile tufts are severedfrom the compact stack of pile yarns 12!), they are deposited directlyupon the upper surface of substrate 142 as it is being moved from leftto right in the same direction as and at about the same speed as thecompact stack or cake of pile yarns 12b. Conveniently, as the pile yarnsare severed, the slice 12c thereof moves downwardly at an angle awayfrom the cut lower surface of the stack 12b and may pass beneath thelower reach of a hold-down or pressure con veyor 147 to aid in holdingthe slice 12c of cut pile tufts against the upper surface of substrateI42 during the setting or curing of the adhesive thereon.

At the end of each forward stroke of carriage 120, during which thestack of yarns 12b moves from left to right in FIGS. 10 and II, conveyor143 for substrate 142 may be stopped and the carriage is moved fromright to left in FIG. It) to move the same rearwardly of or immediatelyto the left of cutting blade 140. Thereupon the stack of yarns I2b ismoved downwardly by platen 134 and a succeeding length of the carpet maybe formed as the patterned block of pile yarns again moves from left toright in FIGS. 10 and 11 along with conveyor I43 and the substrate 142thereon. It is to be noted that, in the event that it is desired todecrease the density of the tufts in each slice I26 as it is depositedupon substrate 142, it is simply necessary to either increase the rateof forward movement of the substrate 142 or decrease the rate of forwardmovement of the carriage 120 relative to each other.

It is thus seen that I have provided an improved method of producingpatterned blocks of pile yarns and making patterned pile fabricstherefrom, especially carpets, rugs and the like, whose patterns may beof many different colors or kinds of pile yarns and whose patterns maybe of simple or highly intricate configurations according to a desiredpattern. It is seen further that I have provided a method of producingpatterned blocks of pile yarns wherein a fabric is woven on a loom andis woven from pile yarns serving as the wefts thereof. Such pile yarnsare of relatively different appearance, such as color, texture and thelike, and are selectively arranged according to a desired pattern andbound together by relatively small, sparsely spaced, binder warp yarns,whereupon the fabric is removed from the loom and folded into layers Lof substantially equal warpwise length to form a compact stack 12b ofsuperposed fabric layers therefrom. The stack then is positioned incontainer 60 and with the ends of the pile yarns exposed so that slicesof tufts may be severed from the patterned pile yarns and deposited upona substrate or other suitable supporting surface for forming a pilefabric therefrom.

Although particular forms of equipment have been described herein forcarrying out the method of this invention it is to be understood thatvarious other forms of apparatus may be employed without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation.

That which is claimed is:

l. A method of making a patterned block of pile yarns from whichsuccessive slices of pile tufts may be severed for forming pile fabricstherefrom, said method comprising the steps of forming successiveinterconnected sections of woven fabric utilizing pile yarns for thewefts thereof by selectively interweaving with a plurality of binderwarp yarns a plurality of weftwise pile yarns of different colors in apredetermined patterned order, and by inserting visually distinctidentifying weft yarns at substantially uniformly spaced locations inthe fabric to define the junctures of adjacent fabric sections, forminga compact stack of layers of the woven fabric by moving the fabric backand forth while folding the same along the identifying weft yarns toform the successive fabric sections into a stack of superposed fabriclayers while aligning the successive layers with each other so that theends of the pile yarns therein collectively form a composite pattern,and enclosing the compact stack of folded fabric in an openendedcontainer to form a confined block of the pile yarns with the ends ofthe pile yarns exposed and forming the composite pattern at an open endof the container so that the block of pile yarns may be incrementallyadvanced from the container and slices of patterned pile tufts severedtherefrom in forming a patterned pile fabric.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising periodicallyapplying a compressive force to the fabric layers during the formationof the compact stack.

3. A method according to claim 1, which includes impaling successivefabric layers on a plurality of substantially upright retaining pins toaid in aligning successive fabric layers with each other during theformation of the stack thereof.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the en closing of the stack offolded fabric in the open-ended container is effected while the fabriclayers are impaled on the upright retaining pins.

5. A method according to claim 4, which includes withdrawing the stackof folded fabric and the container from the retaining pins after thestack has been enclosed in the open-ended container.

6. A method according to claim 1, which includes impaling eachsuccessive layer of the fabric adjacent the edges thereof on a pluralityof substantially upright retaining pins to aid in aligning successivefabric layers with each other during the formation of the stack thereof.

7. A method according to claim 6, which further includes impaling medialportions of the successive layers on a plurality of additionalsubstantially upright retaining pins during the formation of the stackof fabric layers.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the interweaving includesutilizing binder warp yarns which are relatively small with respect tothe weftwise pile yarns, and sparsely arranging the binder warp yarnsacross the fabric being woven.

9. A method according to claim 1, in which the forming of the fabricfurther comprises interweaving, with the weftwise pile yarns, spacedapart identifying warp yarns of a visually distinct character.

10. A method according to claim 9, in which the interweaving of theidentifying warp yarns includes fomiing a float weave of the spacedapart identifying warp yarns by extending them through the fabric at acommon weftwise pile yarn at each of a plurality of spaced locationsalong each successive fabric section, and said method further comprisingimpaling each successive layer of the fabric during the formation of thestack of fabric layers on weftwise rows of upright retaining pinsarranged adjacent certain ones of the aforementioned common weftwisepile yarns.

11. A method according to claim 9, in which the interweaving of theidentifying warp yarns includes forming a float weave of the identifyingwarp yarns by extending them through the fabric at a common weftwisepile yarn at each of a plurality of spaced locations along eachsuccessive fabric section, and the forming of the compact stack offabric layers further comprising impaling each successive layer of thefabric adjacent the identifying weftwise yarns and the opposing warpwiseedges of the fabric on a plurality of substantially upright retainingpins during formation of the stack of the fabric, and also impaling eachsuccessive layer of the r fabric on at least one weftwise row ofintermediate up right retaining pins arranged along a respective one ofthe aforementioned common weftwise pile yarns to aid in maintainingalignment of the successive fabric layers, and applying a compressiveforce to the superposed fabric layers from time to time for compactingthe same during the formation of the stack thereof.

12. A method of making a patterned block of pile yarns from whichsuccessive slices of pile tufts may be severed for forming pile fabricstherefrom, said method comprising the steps of forming successiveinterconnected sections of woven fabric utilizing pile yarns for thewefts thereof by selectively interweaving with a plurality of sparselyspaced binder warp yarns a plurality of weftwise pile yarns of differentappearance in a predetermined patterned order with the binder warp yarnsbeing substantially smaller than the pile yarns, and by insertingvisually distinct identifying weft yarns at substantially uniformlyspaced locations in the fabric to define the junctures of adjacentfabric sections, forming a compact stack of layers of the woven fabricby moving the fabric back and forth while folding the same along theidentifying weft yarns to form the successive fabric sections into astack of superposed fabric layers while impaling the layers on aplurality of spaced substantially upright retaining pins to aid inaligning successive layers with each other so that the ends of the pileyarns in the stack collectively form a composite pattern, periodicallyapplying a compressive force to the impaled superposed fabric layers tocompact the stack, and enclosing the compact stack of folded fabric inan open-ended container to form a confined block of pile yarns with theends of the pile yarns exposed and forming the composite pattern at anopen end of the container so that the block of pile yarns may beincrementally advanced from the container and slices of patterned piletufts severed therefrom in forming a patterned pile fabric.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the step of forming acompact stack of layers of the fabric further comprises forming thestack of layers upon a supporting panel, and wherein the step ofenclosing the stack in an open-ended container includes positioning apair of container sidewalls against opposite sides of the stack offabric defined by the folds along the identifying weft yarns,positioning an upper wall on top of the stack of fabric layers, andattaching the container sidewalls to the supporting panel and the upperwall so that the supporting panel also serves as one of the walls of theopen-ended container.

=l *k k

1. A method of making a patterned block of pile yarns from whichsuccessive slices of pile tufts may be severed for forming pile fabricstherefrom, said method comprising the steps of forming successiveinterconnected sections of woven fabric utilizing pile yarns for thewefts thereof by selectively interweaving with a plurality of binderwarp yarns a plurality of weftwise pile yarns of different colors in apredetermined patterned order, and by inserting visually distinctidentifying weft yarns at substantially uniformly spaced locations inthe fabric to define the junctures of adjacent fabric sections, forminga compact stack of layers of the woven fabric by moving the fabric backand forth while folding the same along the identifying weft yarns toform the successive fabric sections into a stack of superposed fabriclayers while aligning the successive layers with each other so that theends of the pile yarns therein collectively form a composite pattern,and enclosing the compact stack of folded fabric in an open-endedcontainer to form a confined block of the pile yarns with the ends ofthe pile yarns exposed and forming the composite pattern at an open endof the container so that the block of pile yarns may be incrementallyadvanced from the container and slices of patterned pile tufts severedtherefrom in forming a patterned pile fabric.
 2. A method according toclaim 1, further comprising periodically applying a compressive force tothe fabric layers during the formation of the compact stack.
 3. A methodaccording to claim 1, which includes impaling successive fabric layerson a plurality of substantially upright retaining pins to aid inaligning successive fabric layers with each other during the formationof the stack thereof.
 4. A method according to claim 3, wherein theenclosing of the stack of folded fabric in the open-ended container iseffected while the fabric layers are impaled on the upright retainingpins.
 5. A method according to claim 4, which includes withdrawing thestack of folded fabric and the container from the retaining pins afterthe stack has been enclosed in the open-ended container.
 6. A methodaccording to claim 1, which includes impaling each successive layer ofthe fabric adjacent the edges thereof on a plurality of substantiallyupright retaining pins to aid in aligning successive fabric layers witheach other during the formation of the stack thereof.
 7. A methodaccording to claim 6, which further includes impaling medial portions ofthe successive layers on a plurality of additional substantially uprightretaining pins during the formation of the stack of fabric layers.
 8. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein the interweaving includes utilizingbinder warp yarns which are relatively small with respect to theweftwise pile yarns, and sparsely arranging the binder warp yarns acrossthe fabric being woven.
 9. A method according to claim 1, in which theforming of the fabric further comprises interweaving, with the weftwisepile yarns, spaced apart identifying warp yarns of a visually distinctcharacter.
 10. A method according to claim 9, in which the interweavingof the identifying warp yarns includes forming a float weave of thespaced apart identifying warp yarns by extending them through the fabricat a common weftwise pile yarn at each of a plurality of spacedlocations along each successive fabric section, and said method furthercomprising impaling each successive layer of the fabric during theformation of the stack of fabric layers on weftwise rows of uprightretaining pins arranged adjacent certain ones of the aforementionedcommon weftwise pile yarns.
 11. A method according to claim 9, in whichthe interweaving of the identifying warp yarns Includes forming a floatweave of the identifying warp yarns by extending them through the fabricat a common weftwise pile yarn at each of a plurality of spacedlocations along each successive fabric section, and the forming of thecompact stack of fabric layers further comprising impaling eachsuccessive layer of the fabric adjacent the identifying weftwise yarnsand the opposing warpwise edges of the fabric on a plurality ofsubstantially upright retaining pins during formation of the stack ofthe fabric, and also impaling each successive layer of the fabric on atleast one weftwise row of intermediate upright retaining pins arrangedalong a respective one of the aforementioned common weftwise pile yarnsto aid in maintaining alignment of the successive fabric layers, andapplying a compressive force to the superposed fabric layers from timeto time for compacting the same during the formation of the stackthereof.
 12. A method of making a patterned block of pile yarns fromwhich successive slices of pile tufts may be severed for forming pilefabrics therefrom, said method comprising the steps of formingsuccessive interconnected sections of woven fabric utilizing pile yarnsfor the wefts thereof by selectively interweaving with a plurality ofsparsely spaced binder warp yarns a plurality of weftwise pile yarns ofdifferent appearance in a predetermined patterned order with the binderwarp yarns being substantially smaller than the pile yarns, and byinserting visually distinct identifying weft yarns at substantiallyuniformly spaced locations in the fabric to define the junctures ofadjacent fabric sections, forming a compact stack of layers of the wovenfabric by moving the fabric back and forth while folding the same alongthe identifying weft yarns to form the successive fabric sections into astack of superposed fabric layers while impaling the layers on aplurality of spaced substantially upright retaining pins to aid inaligning successive layers with each other so that the ends of the pileyarns in the stack collectively form a composite pattern, periodicallyapplying a compressive force to the impaled superposed fabric layers tocompact the stack, and enclosing the compact stack of folded fabric inan open-ended container to form a confined block of pile yarns with theends of the pile yarns exposed and forming the composite pattern at anopen end of the container so that the block of pile yarns may beincrementally advanced from the container and slices of patterned piletufts severed therefrom in forming a patterned pile fabric.
 13. A methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the step of forming a compact stack oflayers of the fabric further comprises forming the stack of layers upona supporting panel, and wherein the step of enclosing the stack in anopen-ended container includes positioning a pair of container sidewallsagainst opposite sides of the stack of fabric defined by the folds alongthe identifying weft yarns, positioning an upper wall on top of thestack of fabric layers, and attaching the container sidewalls to thesupporting panel and the upper wall so that the supporting panel alsoserves as one of the walls of the open-ended container.